:18:00
...and he'd just finished his first
Hollywood film. Get this title:
:18:05
The Fearless Vampire Killers...
:18:07
... or: Pardon Me, But Your
Teeth Are in My Neck.
:18:11
Though no one wanted him in America,
he didn't care. He was a star in Europe.
:18:16
Where do I get him? How do
I get to him? He's an avid skier.
:18:19
I lured him to America, thinking
he was gonna direct Downhill Racer.
:18:26
Polanski walks in.
This is some character!
:18:29
Within five minutes, this Polack's
acting out crazy stories.
:18:33
They're somewhere between
Shakespeare and theater of the absurd.
:18:36
Maybe that's why we clicked so well.
:18:38
We both come out of the same
school of drama, the drama of life.
:18:42
I didn't wanna bullshit him.
Roman, will you read this?
:18:47
I shoved the galleys of Rosemary's
Baby across the desk at him.
:18:51
"Is this about skiing?"
Read it, Polack.
:18:55
If you don't like it, your next ski trip is on
me, anywhere you wanna go in the world.
:19:00
A gamble? Sure.
It paid off. Roman loved it.
:19:04
But then the fights began.
You know, fighting is healthy.
:19:08
If everyone has too much reverence for
each other, or the material...
:19:12
Check it out and think about it.
Invariably, it turns out underwhelming.
:19:17
By the end of the first week's shooting,
Roman was a week behind schedule.
:19:22
Everyone from Bluhdorn to Bill Castle
wanted me to throw him off the picture.
:19:28
Roman's dailies were weird. They
touched off an ominous sense of fright.
:19:33
One I'd never seen in film before.
:19:37
At the same time, Bill Castle
was pressing the right buttons...
:19:40
...getting the New York brass unnerved on
our Polish discovery, my Polish discovery.
:19:45
We're 10 days into shooting, and
Roman was five days behind schedule.
:19:49
"Fire the Polack," were the words
from New York. Fire him? Fuck you.
:19:54
He goes, I go.
:19:57
For a moment, I thought I'd have
to pay my own plane fare back.